Death and rebirth are necessary parts of new beginnings. Before you can be reborn as a new person, you have to die to old ways of being. Throughout the world at various times and in various cultures, there have been shamanic traditions. One of the tasks of the shaman is to commune with the dead. Another is to journey to the Otherworld (or the Underworld) and to bring back knowledge. Most, if not all, shamanic traditions have some sort of initiation rite in which the candidate “dies” to his former life and is reborn to the life of the shaman.
These death and rebirth rites usually took place in some sort of representation of the womb of the Earth Mother. The Hopi tribe used kivas for this purpose. In ancient Europe, there were many earthmounds. One of the largest of these is Brú na Bóinne in Newgrange, Ireland.
Some Celtic tribes engaged in a ritual called “bull sleep,” in which the shaman ingested psychoactive substances and wrapped himself in the hide of a bull while seeking visions. Many Native American tribes used sweat lodges for such a purpose.
No matter the form the rites took, they were symbolic of the rebirth of the shaman into his new role. Such a rebirth followed a phase of preparation and purification, then a period of sensory deprivation involving an earth mound, tent, leather hide, sweat lodge, or other representation of the womb, and finally a re-birth into a new life.
There is usually a feast prior to the rite. The candidates do not eat at the feast, nor will they eat for the entire period of their initiation, although they may ingest plants or herbs to enhance their visions. This practice of fasting is common among many shamanic traditions.
Amid the dancing and the drumming, the candidates are admitted to the central chamber of the mound. There are no torches or other light sources, so the candidates await the journey in total darkness. The journey into the darkness of the mound symbolizes death and burial. This is consistent with the technique of sensory deprivation used by many cultures throughout the world.
When used in this manner, the senses are deprived of stimulation to achieve a state receptive to visions and dreams. Lacking any outside stimuli, the mind turns inward. When turned inward in this manner, freed of distractions, the mind makes contact with the collective unconscious shared by all. It is a time when the candidate may call upon his or her Supernatural Aid for guidance.
Many shamanic practices use three days and three nights for such initiations.
So the petitioner finds himself (or herself…there is also a large history of female shamans) in the center of a burial mound, in total darkness, calling upon her Supernatural Aid to guide her to the Otherworld. The petitioner may spend up to three days and three nights communing with the spirits of the Sacred Ancestors present with her there in the womb of the Earth Goddess.
On the third day, at dawn, the candidate emerges into the sunlight, marking the first time in three days that she has seen any light whatsoever. This also marks the first time she has seen the Sun with her new, shamanic eyes. She leaves the chamber, sometimes crawling through a narrow earthen passage like an infant struggling to be born, so that she may share the sacred wisdom of the vision with the rest of the tribe.
This rebirthing exercise will allow you to experience your katabasis in the Belly of the Whale by engaging in your own ritual death and rebirth. The idea of sensory deprivation, or of stimulating certain senses while repressing others, is a useful technique when engaging in vision quests of this nature. Music is one of the tools used most often for this purpose.
Anything from rhythmic drumming to flutes to symphonies may be used when seeking visions. To employ this method, lie comfortably, preferably in darkness, while allowing the music to take you. Allow the notes and the rhythms to create landscapes in your mind. If you are doing this workbook as part of an Ecospirituality group, your instructor may hold a drum circle or other rite for such a purpose. If doing these death and rebirth exercises on your own, you may select or play your own music.
Prior to your own rebirthing rite, you may experiment with isolating and stimulating merely one sense at a time. For example, try shamanic meditation while sitting in a dark room with incense burning, or gaze at a single lit candle, or lie in a warm bath. Another influence on shamanic journeying is the position of your body. Try this: Sit cross-legged on the floor or the ground with your hands resting on your knees.
Notice what the energy in your hands feels like. Now try the same thing with your hands palm up in your lap. Finally, place your hands, palms together, in front of your heart. Do you sense any difference in energy in these various positions? Likewise, the position of your body during vision seeking can determine the quality and flavor of your vision. Experiment until you find a position suitable for your needs.
Do these practices make it easier for you to engage in your own death and rebirth experiences?
Share Your Thoughts on Death and Rebirth!
What does “death and rebirth” mean to you? What things are you ‘dying’ to that you may be reborn as an ecospiritual shaman?